Playfest: Investigating the Successes and Gaps of Visitor Engagement during Virtual Events and Programming at the ASU Art Museum

This paper investigates the challenges associated with creating engaging virtual programming during the COVID-19 pandemic through the event Playfest from the ASU Art Museum. A survey was created and given to participants of the live Zoom event to understand which aspects were a success from the audience perspective. Staff members from different job ranks were interviewed about the internal structure in place for altering the popular in-person event into a digital one. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic will not last forever, exploring how to create virtual programming that is successful at engaging audiences allows for museums to remain relevant in a world where digital media is frequently consumed.